JACK IS OFF THE VENTILATOR!

Day 40

JACK IS OFF THE VENTILATOR! We were so surprised to see that he was breathing all on his own when we got there today. He is such a strong boy. We’re very proud of him. He seems so much more comfortable now that he doesn’t have that tube down his throat anymore. He actually had his own pacifier and he did a good job breaking it in.

His nurse said that once he gets used to the CPAP, they will gradually wean him off that as well. That process consists of taking him off the CPAP for a few hours at a time and then increasing the length of time that he is off. Towards the end, he will only be on the CPAP for a few hours a day. We really don’t know the timeframe yet. It really depends on how well he does.

It will be great to be able to hold him without being hooked to a breathing tube. Of course he will still be on oxygen, but it will be much easier to take him out of his bed.

Right now he is handling the transition very well. His blood gases are good and the only time we saw his oxygen saturation drop is when he pulled the nasal prongs out. This is not a big deal because the nurses quickly respond and put them back in.

We also heard him cry for the first time and he made cute sounds when he hiccupped after his feeding. Soon he will be crying louder and louder after his vocal cords heal from being intubated. We can’t wait!